73-Year-Old Woman Shoots Self In Foot

A 73 year old woman from Monroe was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick yesterday with an accidental gunshot wound. Shortly before noon, authorities got the call and police and EMS responded to The Ponds Adult Community on North Pondview Boulevard. Police say that a homeowner was removing a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver from a closet when the weapon discharged, striking her in the right foot. She was treated at the scene then taken to the hospital. Hopefully she'll be okay.

I came close to being a gun owner right before I found out I was going to be having a child. I had gone to firing ranges with a friend often enough using his guns and was thinking about getting one of my own. I decided I didn't want to have a gun in the house where there would be a child so I backed off the plan. Even for people with no children though, I often wonder about them keeping a gun loaded. In this case it was a revolver, not the kind of gun you can load quickly. Sure you can buy a speed-loader, but still I don't think that would be as fast to load as a semi-automatic with a clip. So in this case it may make sense to store it loaded. Yet then you have to worry about accidents such as this. But what protection is a gun like a revolver going to offer someone if you store it unloaded and need it in a hurry? It's a legitimate debate.